


love me like there's no tomorrow

by ghibliterritory



Category: IT (1990), IT - Stephen King
Genre: 1990s IT, Adults, I'm emotional about this song and these two, M/M, Set after Mike gets stabbed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 19:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20587940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghibliterritory/pseuds/ghibliterritory
Summary: Eddie sits in a waiting room, and fear about what happens next becomes something else.





	love me like there's no tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> heavily inspired by Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow by Freddie Mercury

The hospital was painfully bright, Eddie thought. He’d spent more time in there than he’d like to admit, and after thirty fucking years, it was still as bright as he imagined Heaven probably would be. It made sitting in the waiting area even more unbearable, while he waited for everyone else to help Mike get situated. He would have helped, but frankly, the excitement had become too much. He just needed to sit. Not feel terrified for at least  _ one _ minute.

It wasn’t really working.

Eddie sighed and leaned his head against the wall behind his seat, closing his eyes. Anxiety rattled in his chest like bees in a trap. Forceful, persistent. Was this all just a bad dream? Would he wake up in his home, his mother calling him down for breakfast? And if it wasn’t, if it was real, would he even go home? Would he never hear that again, never feel the relief of escaping a nightmare?

Jesus, this was getting morbid. He opened his eyes again and looked around. Thankfully, it was empty, save for any staff wandering through. He didn’t have to worry about looking crazy. As if that was avoidable either way.

Footsteps finally snapped Eddie out of his thoughtful daze, and he turned towards the open hallway. Instead of the nurse he’d been expecting to see, for the thousandth time, Richie came through. He looked tired, the smile lines around his eyes making him look centuries older than he had before- not even a day ago. It was probably stress, if he knew anything about Richie, and about the situation- which he knew quite a bit about both. 

Eddie watched him sit down across the waiting room from him and run a hand over his face. The radio from a nurse’s desk was faint and crackly, but otherwise, it was quiet.

Uncomfortably quiet.

“How is he?” Eddie asked, trying not to let his voice shake from his fear. Richie lifted his head. Almost instantly, the tiredness melted, and his eyes got brighter. “Oh, Mike? Peachy! Nearly getting butchered by Danny Zuko back there really opened some third fuckin’ eye for him.” Richie’s tone was deadpan, but Eddie couldn’t help but huff out a laugh. Of course. Even in times of crisis, he was making funny. 

Richie smiled at his laugh, and let out a chuckle of his own. “No, he’s doing okay. He’s not dead, which is definitely better than anything.” He sighed. “But I might just kill him myself after all this…”

“If we make it to an after.” Eddie muttered. He looked at his hands, and heard Richie shift. “Way to look on the bright side, Eddie Spaghetti.”

Now, he really laughed, running a hand through his hair to get it away from his face. “I hate it when you call me that, Rich.”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t  _ hate it _ .” Richie retorted, getting up to plop down beside Eddie and ruffle his hair up. Eddie scrunched his face and swatted his hand away. “Jeez- I do! I don’t even like spaghetti.” He bit his lip to hide his growing smile, but it was too late. Richie saw it. “Aw, c’mon, Eds, it’s fitting! You, too, are a limp noodle!”

That got Richie a small swat to the head, and he laughed, swatting Eddie’s arm in return. The two of them couldn’t even try to hide the giant grins on their faces. Eddie’s heart beat faster than a hummingbird. Once the two of them contained their quiet chuckles, he leaned on Richie’s arm, breathing in deep. “Do you think we’ll make it out okay, Rich?” He asked softly.

Richie hummed, moving his arm around the other’s shoulders. “I sure hope so, Eddie. I sure hope so.”

The words left a strange taste in Eddie’s mouth. They weren’t necessarily comforting, but they weren’t awful. He hummed and tried not to think about it too much. He’d be okay. If what everyone said was true, about them being special, he had to make it. There was a lot of stuff he had to do, anyway.

From afar, the song on the radio changed from disgustingly upbeat tunes to something slower. Eddie recognized the voice almost instantly. Freddie Mercury sang smoothly to them through awful speakers, and he smiled. “I love this song.” He whispered, not thinking Richie was listening to him. “I guess if I wanna hear anything before I die…”

Suddenly, Richie stood, making Eddie jerk upright and tense up. Richie stood in front of him, his expression… unreadable. “What’s the matter, Richie?” He asked.

There was a beat of silence, before Richie sighed and deflated, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Your talk of death is  _ really _ thought provoking, Eds, it really is, but I cannot think too much right now- there’s already far too much in here for my thick skull to handle.” He said while poking his own temple. Eddie raised a brow, and Richie sighed again, louder. “Look, just- if this  _ is _ our last few moments on Earth… let’s not waste them thinking.”

Eddie blinked. He wasn’t really shocked or anything, but… it was a little odd to hear something like that from Richie. He stood, wringing his hands. “So, what do we do instead?”

Richie subtly bit the inside of his lip. “Trust me on this.” He said, before taking Eddie’s hands. He slowly moved his arms around to where one wrapped around his shoulder and neck, and he held the other hand tightly. His free arm went around Eddie’s torso. “Richie-”

“Just-” Richie interrupted, nervous. It was very clear, Eddie thought. “Just trust me. Please.”

Silently, Eddie stared at him. It didn’t seem like Richie trying to be funny, for once. So, he nodded slowly. “Okay. I trust you.”

While he didn’t say anything, Richie smiled thankfully, and after a beat of staring and silence, he slowly started to move them. It wasn’t anything fancy- no crazy ballroom dances. Just slow, slow swaying, stepping here and there without really moving anywhere. Eddie remembered watching people dance like that at all the school dances. Hands on the shoulders and waist, a foot apart that slowly shrunk with age. He hadn’t really imagined himself doing anything like that. But, with Richie, it felt right.

“ _ Love me like there’s no tomorrow, _ ” Freddie sang to them, voice gentle and perfect for the moment. Richie tugged Eddie just a few inches closer. “ _ Hold me in your arms, tell me you mean it, _ ”

Eddie rested his head against Richie’s chest. He could hear his heartbeat pounding. Just like Eddie’s own.

“ _ This is our last goodbye, and very soon it will be over, _ ”

“Eddie.” Richie spoke gently, making the other lift his head to look at him. They stared at each other, unsure of what to do. What to say. What to think. Eddie’s face burned, he could feel it. Richie’s was even a little pink. “Yes?”

“ _ So today,” _

Richie opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. He tried again and again, all while staring right at Eddie, building his nerves. Eddie tensed up again. But, it wasn’t fearful. It was almost excited. His heartbeat was loud in his ears.

“ _ Just love me like there’s no tomorrow.” _

“Eddie-”

Clacking heels down the hallway pushed them apart in the blink of an eye, and their faces burned bright red. A nurse walked right between them, not even bothering to look up from the small clipboard she carried. She was gone as fast as she came. But, they didn’t get a fraction of a chance to pick it up when Beverly strolled in. Tears were dried on her cheeks, glinting in the brightness of the waiting room. “He’s settled.” She told them, wiping at her eyes. “We can go see him now.”

The two of them sighed, and Eddie looked over for a brief second at Richie. He looked tired again. “Yeah, good plan-” He spoke quickly. Without another word, he left, going down the hall away from Eddie and Beverly. Eddie’s body relaxed. For the first time, it wasn’t relieving.

“You okay, Eddie?” Beverly asked him, and of course, he gave her a smile when he turned to look at her. “Yeah. I’ll be right there.”

Beverly smiled back softly, before turning and disappearing as well. Eddie looked over to the radio. The song changed back to something fun and new. His head started to hurt a little bit at the sound of it.

Something inside his chest hurt too. He didn’t know what.

He left without much ceremony, leaving the room empty and cold and bright.


End file.
